News of the Day From Across the Nation, April 13

Chronicle News Services

Updated 9:12 pm, Friday, April 12, 2013

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News of the Day From Across the Nation, April 13

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1 Spring storm: A powerful spring storm unleashed tornadoes and winds strong enough to peel the roofs from homes in the Deep South and heaped snow and ice on the Midwest, killing three people and leaving thousands without power as it moved up the East Coast on Friday. High winds knocked down trees and power lines across the Southeast. By Friday, sleet and freezing rain made driving treacherous in northern New York, where several schools closed.

2Robbery: More than $4 million worth of jewelry was stolen from a Fairfield, Conn., store by armed men who kidnapped the store manager and another employee, drove them to the shop and then looted its safe, authorities said Friday. Four or five men wearing masks and gloves bound and gagged with duct tape the manager, employee and two others Thursday at the residence, police said. No arrests have been made. The victims were unharmed.

3 Sheriff targeted: Joe Arpaio, the Maricopa County sheriff who is the darling of conservatives and the bane of immigration-rights activists, was the apparent target of an explosive device that was intercepted and disabled, Arizona officials said Friday. A suspicious package was picked up at a rural post office on Thursday. A worker contacted authorities who found it had leaked gunpowder. The package was examined by X-ray and disabled. The box was addressed to Arpaio at his Phoenix office.

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4 Kidnapping case: The man accused of kidnapping his two young sons and sailing to Cuba had spent weeks loading the family's boat with supplies, according to court documents released Friday. The affidavit's release coincided with a hearing for Joshua and Sharyn Hakken in Tampa, Fla. They were ordered to remain in jail without bond. Their attorney entered not guilty pleas on their behalf. Police say the Hakkens lost custody of their boys, ages 4 and 2, after authorities found them in a Louisiana hotel room with drugs and weapons. The boys' grandparents were granted custody.

5 Obama tax return: President Obama made less in 2012 than in any other year since taking office, with about 40 percent of the $609,000 in income that he and first lady Michelle Obama reported coming from book sales. Obama paid $112,214 in taxes last year, putting his effective federal tax rate at 18.4 percent. The Obamas donated almost one-quarter of their income to charity, according to tax returns released by the White House.

6 Seger fan: The first words of a 79-year-old Michigan woman as she emerged from a five-year semi-coma were, "I want to go to a Bob Seger concert." Her wish came true. Evie Branan cheered and danced during Seger's concert Thursday night in Auburn Hills. She also met Seger and his family, talked with band members and received VIP treatment. Branan called the night "the happiest I've been in a long time." She awoke from the semicoma on May 7, 2011.